Multicapillary column gas chromatography with element-selective detection

Multicapillary column gas chromatography (MC GC) is presented as a novel technique for the time-resolved sample introduction of gaseous analytes in atomic spectrometry. The principles and the theory of MC GC, the coupling of MC GC with microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry and with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and features of the coupled techniques developed are discussed. Applications of MC GC with element-selective detection to species-selective analysis are reviewed. The possibility of incorporating MC columns into dedicated sample preparation accessories for elemental speciation by atomic spectrometry is evaluated. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.